Tales of Symphonia: Beasts
by Ariacan Phoenix
Summary: An old enemy returns and kidnaps Lloyd. Will Lloyd's new friends be able to find him in time before Lloyd is killed by his captors? Or will this old enemy have his revenge? Set after the game ending.
1. Default Chapter

Beasts pt. 1

Note: this story takes place 6 months after the defeat of Mithos in Tales of Symphonia. All characters (C) Namco, except those created by me.

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The warm summer breeze sailed gently in the air of the now grown village of Izoold, wafting by his face as he carried himself back up the stairs of the inn, carrying two hot bowls of ramen from the vendor a few blocks down the street. The heat had quickly seeped through his red gloves and assaulted his skin underneath, making him wish that he had the sense of taking some napkins for a makeshift hot pad for himself. He could barely hold onto the bowls and the chopsticks as he opened the door to his room where his companion was.

"OW! Yeow, that's hot!" cried Lloyd as he struggled with the piping hot meals, opened the door with his foot, and rushed up the stairs without spilling a single drop of the tasty ramen.

His companion was a woman that he had met while traveling around the worlds. She sat on the wooden floor of the room, reading some letters next to the low window. For some strange reason, he felt compelled to travel with her, even after the defeat of Mithos and the destruction of the Cruxis earlier that year. Colette and the others had already followed their own ways, leaving him with not much to do afterward.

"Here ya go, Aurora," he handed a bowl to her, in which she took without even looking up from her reading.

She was wearing a simple, knee-length deep blue, sleeveless yayoi with a simple, bowless black obi sash that flaunted her nearly boisterous cleavage; and a single black legging on her right leg with a studded black kneepad. Her wrists, palms, and forearms were wrapped up in protective and durable bandages to support her blade-swinging habits. She had short, somewhat shaggy blonde hair that had reached the length of her chin, with calm, blue-grey eyes reflecting off of her thin glasses. Her body was that of a lithe, young woman; with almost superhuman senses that baffled Lloyd. Inhuman reaction times, acute sense of smell, sharp hearing and vision, just simply amazing, if not better than what he remembered of Kratos. She finally decided to put down the letter she was reading to handle the sudden temperature increase as she touched the hot bowl.

"Finally, something to eat. Thanks," she replied as she picked up the chopsticks and slurped up some noodles. The taste of beef broth, green onions and salt was a welcoming treat to her tongue. The steam curled playfully about the tips of her chopsticks.

"Heh, no prob," he replied with a smirk, "When ya gotta eat, ya gotta eat."

He sat himself down and sipped on the broth, letting the hot liquid run down to warm his stomach before attempting to use the chopsticks. In the past two weeks, he had actually gotten pretty good with these things, but still occasionally struggled with some bits of food. He owed it to Aurora, who showed him how to use it properly.

Both sat in silence, slurping and sipping away at the cooling ramen, when Lloyd spoke, "Y'know, it's kinda weird that I didn't know that you were a hunter of sorts..."

She looked up at him in surprise, raising an eyebrow.

"That...well, you...killed people for a living," he stuttered, putting his bowl down, looking ashamed of himself for starting the conversation.

Aurora smiled at him, sucking the last noodle in her chopstick's grasp into her mouth. "You mean my job? Tch, I have a reason for killing them, and so do you, if that's the reason why you're here. In fact..."

"I...ah...well I..."

"...The people I seek to kill are on a mission to control the world with their ways, much like the Cruxis was. They live by the sword, die by the sword, if you ask me. Most of them were ranch-leaders. Remember Kvar and Magnius?"

Lloyd shuddered. Memories of those ranches were never pleasant, especially at Kvar's ranch. He had learned about his mother and the origin of his Exsphere there, and he'd often wish to forget about it.

"How could I forget? That was not a pleasant time..." he trailed off.

"Actually, they were my targets. You stepped in and did the job for me. Needless to say, I was impressed and displeased."

"What?"

"Yup. My boss had hired me to do the job and would've paid me good too, if you hadn't done it yourself."

"...I'm sorry, but--" he said, glancing down at the floor with a sudden sense of shame.

"I know, I know, I've heard it before: you can't stand it when people are suffering before your eyes," Aurora said as she bit into a piece of sliced beef, her eyes lighting up upon consumption, "Hot damn that's a spicy one!"

She looked up at Lloyd, who had stopped eating at began to stare off into space. "What's with that pitiful look in those pretty brown eyes of yours, Lloyd?"

"Huh?" he snapped back to attention.

"Look, if you're gonna come with me on this little trip, ya gotta eat or it'll get cold. Speaking of which, I'm going 'hunting' again tonight. I won't be back till tomorrow afternoon, so just hang out here. Chiriko'll take good care of you until I get back. Don't ask, I've already paid her, so relax."

"Waitaminute…," he grumbled, "Why am I supposed to stay here?"

"Because this job I got from my boss needs only one person, a woman, so to speak," she said as she finished the last of the broth. "But I gotta admit, the boss sure is impressed with your swordsmanship. He might even extend an invitation to you to join our little group."

"R-really! I..."

"If you're willing to take human lives for money and just cause."

"Ah...umm...I'm not...really..."

"Relax, kid. You probably won't get one until you've matured a little more."

"What's that supposed to mean!"

Aurora snickered to herself, obviously amused at Lloyd's outburst.

"Hey! Answer me, dammit!" Lloyd demanded.

"Anyway, I've got to get going. Raja'll be back soon, so just tell him that I'm out for tonight," she said as she slipped on her black sandals. They were only ankle high and exposed the toes, but were light and very quiet as she stepped down the stairs. The clinking of chains and blades accompanied the sound of a closing door, leaving him alone in silence.

"Hmph! Waddaya mean 'mature a little more'! I wish she would explain some things to me," he pouted, then proceeded to finish his meal.

Ten minutes passed when Lloyd heard the door opening downstairs.

"Psht, she forgot something again," he mumbled. "For the love of God," he said aloud as he walked to the stairs, "don't you rem--" he was cut short with the arrival of people dressed in very familiar uniforms. Desian uniforms.

"Dammit," he uttered before one of the soldiers looked up.

"THERE HE IS! GET 'IM!" one of them shouted. They herded themselves up the stairs quickly, but Lloyd had already drawn his weapons from their sheaths and backed himself to the open window as a possible escape route. Several of the soldiers made their weapons useful and attacked him, only to be cut down. More soldiers flooded into the building and swiftly subdued him.

"Alright, our little lost boy is now secured. Bring them in," ordered one of the soldiers. One left, and returned a minute later with two more men, one wearing a traditional white swordsman kimono; the other one was wearing a large white hood that he had draped over his body into a makeshift cloak.

Lloyd looked at the two new men, and scowled. The one wearing the kimono didn't look familiar at all, but he looked powerful. Long grayish hair and a goatee, coupled with middle age, made this man to appear to be very wise and skilled at what he does. The other one, well, he couldn't tell under the hood. He struggled against the soldiers holding his arms at bay as the men approached. Oddly enough, they stopped just a few feet from him. The first one spoke.

"Hmm...cutting down four of our men. Quite an insult to our master, boy," said the one in the kimono.

"Who the hell are you!" Lloyd demanded, still struggling fiercely with his captors. "Lemme go, dammit!"

The one in the cloak approached Lloyd and punched him in the left cheek so hard that he began to cough up blood after the blow. The cloaked one grabbed Lloyd's face tightly by the jaw and grinned, forcing them to see each other face to face.

"Remember me, Lloyd? Remember this face? Heh heh, probably not, I mean, why bother? One of those cannon fodder Grand Cardinals you love to foil. Heh, you thought I was dead meat, except this one pulled through! Heh heh!" Lloyd looked into the now familiar face, his eyes widening in terror.

"Yeah, you remember me, Lord Forcystus of the Iselia Human Ranch. That look of terror in your face proves it. Remember how you liked to ruin everyone's plans? Remember how you caused me to fall into the Mana Reactor? Heh heh, yeah, you remember. You left me for dead, and everyone thought I was dead, but I pulled through. I'm much tougher than you think."

_'I...impossible! How can Forcystus still be alive?' _ Lloyd thought, still trying to break free of his captor's grasp.

Lloyd breathed in horror as Forcystus continued, "But after I crawled out of that damn Reactor, the damage had been done. One bad eye, you see, and two of my fingers in my right hand are useless now. The arm cannon no longer works, but I've gotten myself a new arm for that. But the thing is, it's all robotic now, so I can't feel anything for shit. Pretty much washed up as the Hero of the Half-Elves. Ever since that day, I've dreamt about you every single night, of how I would get my revenge on you. I've dreamt about this day for a long time, Lloyd Irving..." he then punched Lloyd in the gut, forcing out of him a cry of pain, followed by a spat of blood onto the floor and coughing for air before Forcystus continued again, "Y-you...son of a bitch! I'll make you pay in spades for what you've done to me! That's all I've thought about!"

He gripped Lloyd's face tightly again, forcing the boy to look at the man as he glared deeply into his eyes. "I ain't just gonna kill ya now, though, no. I'm gonna make it reaaaaal slow. I'll destroy your body and mind an inch at a time. You're gonna wish that you were dead, you little bitch!" Forcystus looked up from his prize and commanded, "Check the place thoroughly. I want to make sure his other buddies are gone! If you see anyone suspicious, kill them on sight!"

"YES SIR!" One of the soldiers turned around to the last man that arrived, another fellow Desian.

"C'mon, the boss doesn't like to wait...er, what's yer name again?" he said.

Ever so smoothly and swiftly did the last Desian unsheathe his sword than did he slice the soldier into ribbons. The others turned to him in surprise, including their captive. The last swing of the now-enemied Desian threw his helmet off to reveal a very familiar face.

"Raja! You idiot! Get out of here, now!" cried Lloyd as he continued to struggle, "They'll kill you too if you don't leave!"

Raja grinned. He was another one of Lloyd's new traveling companions, and also one heck of a tracker. His long, chestnut brown hair had been tied up into a tight bun, while only a long, lazy bang covered his right eye. "Do you really think I'd abandon this? I've been tracking these boys for the past several days. Sorry that I didn't come back in time to warn ya," he said as he cut up two more men, drawing the opposing group down to just eight members.

"No! That's not what I mean! Get out, now!" Lloyd cried again, still fighting his strong bonds, "You can't take on all of these guys yourself!"

"Heh, don't worry. I'll get you out of here soon enough," Raja chuckled. "So, who's next?"

The kimono-wearing swordsman swiftly answered his challenge, and before Raja could react, the man had taken two swings at him, blowing him back against the wall and tumbled down the stairs into a small puddle of blood, where he lay there motionless. The swordsman then quickly sheathed his blood-covered sword with finesse and speed, breathing a sigh of disappointment.

_'Oh god...Raja...'_ thought Lloyd. He lowered his head in sadness over his dead friend, his face no longer visible to the invaders.

"So much for him...damn kid," sighed the man, then turned to one of the surviving soldiers, "You. How many did he kill? Go see."

"Uh...sure thing, Master Kinuka," replied one of the soldiers as he scrambled to count the bodies. "Looks like...three. Suicide...damn punk."

"Three! Damn it. Not good, that makes seven men dead today. This was supposed to be a secret from Abayama," Kinuka cursed. "More to the point, it's not just these men. We lost 11 men in the decoy operation in Palmacosta...so at least two, three more..."

"Let it go, Kinuka," said Forcystus. Kinuka turned to face him, still pondering the losses. "Okay, guys died. That sucks. But it's history. This just gives us more reason to enjoy messing up this human. If we make him cough up everything he knows about his buddies, you think the old man'll complain! Heh, he'll kiss our butts for this!" he ruffled Lloyd's hair like a caged animal, his newfound game and prize.

"Hmm...?" he looked down at his victim's face, only to be greeted by an angry glare of pure animal instinct.

Lloyd exerted a powerful side kick to Forcystus' chest, knocking his oppressor back to the ground. Using that momentum, he broke free of the soldier's hold and assaulted one with a powerful punch to the face before going for the final kill.

WHACK!

Lloyd fell unconscious to the floor with an audible thud, thanks to Kinuka's quick thinking and a hand chop to the back of the neck. Forcystus sat silently, amazed by this man's extraordinary power.

"Don't provoke him, fool! You can't predict how people will act when they see their friends killed! YOU should know better than anyone!" gruffed the swordsman. He then slung Lloyd's body over his shoulder, and turned to leave.

"Y-yeah. Right," Forcystus said, still a little shaken. Standing up, he ordered his soldiers to take a body, even if they were in two pieces.

"Where are we gonna take 'em? That place over in the red-light district?" asked one of the soldiers.

"Why not? That place is literally made for it," replied another.

"I dunno, man. I don't like dumping guys near that old, deserted brothel..."

"Come on! If you're gonna be a ghost, why not near a whorehouse? Ha ha!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Her target dead much quicker than she had anticipated, Aurora released a sigh of content. At her feet was the recently beheaded corpse of an ex-Desian commander who still believed that Desians were still in power, that delusional fool; in her right hand, her bladed weapon that was quite unique: only a few feet long, this handled scythe was sharper and stronger than diamond. It could cut through the air like it was nothing at all, and that she could use it to grapple an enemy or simply swing it like a normal sword. The handle itself was made out of blackened, super hard elephant's tusks, and carved on it were ornate symbols and charms for power and death. In her left hand, the commander's bloodied head.

_'Job's done,' _she thought, stepping over the dead bodies that had fought and lost against her_, 'I'd better get going...'_

A sudden cool breeze swept through the area, disturbing a small flock of birds into leaving. Aurora narrowed her eyes as the wind ceased blowing and gazed into the sky.

"A bad omen..."

End part 1


	2. Beasts pt 2

Beasts pt.2

Aurora returned home the next day, only to find a trail of blood leading to the back door. Following the trail, she found Raja, still wearing the Desian uniform, on the floor, prone. She checked for pulse and breathing. He was alive, miraculously, despite his injuries and loss of blood. She turned him over, face-up, so that she could determine if he was going to live.

"Raja, can you hear me? Raja?"

"...mmnng...unnnng..." Raja writhed weakly with pain. His eyes fluttered open to greet Aurora's.

"Au...rora...it..." he uttered weakly.

"Don't talk. Conserve your strength while I patch you up," she quickly grabbed some bandages and ointment from her pack and began to wrap up his wounds.

"...L...Lloyd..."

"I said, don't talk. You'll only waste your energy if you talk."

"It's...about Lloyd..." Raja was now a little more conscious and breathing heavily.

"What about Lloyd? Where is he?"

"...he's…Desians…came and took him somewhere…"

"What? I thought the Desians disbanded!"

"...F...Forcys…" Raja began to cough up blood.

"Hang in there!" she cried, "Just hang on!"

She threw his arm over her shoulder and carried him upstairs to let him rest in the futon, and finished the bandages. His breathing was deep but somewhat labored. Raja then opened his eyes again and looked at her.

"There...is something that...you must know...Aurora..."

"Hmm?"

"...Forcystus...is alive...Lloyd's in danger...go find him...quickly..." his voice strained against the pain.

"Forcystus..." she glared down. How could he still be alive after all those reports of his death? Surely the boss wouldn't like this...

"Understood. Stay here and heal your wounds. I will bring Chiriko to care for you until I get back."

XXXXXXX

Nightfall had quickly descended on the small utility shacks just inside the lumberyards of Izoold. One small shack, however, had a special guest inside, as well as his enemies. Inside, it reeked of cut lumber that had been stacked high outside, making maneuvering around the small jut of land the shack was situated on tough. Several other empty shacks around it made it an ideal spot for soldiers to hide and 'interrogate' their captives.

SPLSH! Warm water was splashed into Lloyd's face, who had been tied up and beaten the moment they arrived at the shack. He was bound in rope by his hands and had been tied to one of the metal rafters above, swinging like a kick bag with each blow. His ankles were also tied up, preventing him from kicking or running away from the torment that ever so eagerly awaited him.

SPLOSH! Another wave of warm water was thrown into his face, forcing him to gasp for air. Forcystus looked at him with disgust.

"Pitiful human!" cried Forcystus as he wound up for one last punch at Lloyd, "talk or suffer!"

Lloyd remained silent and stared at the floor. Water and sweat were slowly dripping from his half-stripped and badly bruised body, and with each soaking of the water sensitized his skin to stinging punches and kicks from his captors.

"Harumph, fine then. This one's from me!" said the half-elven leader as he punched his victim dead square in the ribs with his robotic arm, making a disgusting, cracking sound. Lloyd opened his eyes wide with tears of pain and cried out in agony as he swung back and forth from the blow.

"Ah, the mere sound of your tortured screams of agony just simply soothe me," haughtily chuckled the leader, "I wish I could have you scream for me all the time, but eventually you'll crack. And that's when you die. Such a moment it will be after all this time."

He sighed and turned to his soldiers.

"I'm getting tired of hitting him. Go ahead and take him down for the next round."

"YES SIR!" The soldiers dutifully did as he ordered and took him off of the metal rafter. They then tied him down to a metal table that had been left there, already cleaned up of sawdust and chipped wood. Lloyd tensed up as his exposed skin made contact with the cold steel of the table. His body ached so badly that he didn't even feel the others tie him down tightly.

"God, it's hot," complained one of the soldiers, fanning himself. The rest of them were feeling quite warm inside the stuffy little shack, some even removing their shirts and helmets, "can't we just open the door or something?"

"No," replied Kinuka, sipping on his drink, "Someone might hear his screams, and we don't need the extra attention," he took another drink from his cup, "Remember our fallen comrades, and endure. The boy's bound to break sometime soon, so be patient."

He turned to Ikon, a half-elven woman and an expert torturer, who was sitting on the floor over a small hotbox full of small rods and hot coals. Her hair was a light blue, done into a long braid that reached to her buttocks, had deeply penetrating blue eyes, and a sinister attitude to go along with a beautiful figure. She didn't wear the standard issue armor. Instead, she wore a dauntingly skimpy version of body armor: almost all of her skin; save for the private areas, were exposed to the world, with flexible bands of leather and steel connecting the main plates. That twinkle in her left eye was always scheming something to herself on how to maim her next victim.

"Ikon, are you ready?"

"Heh heh! Yeah, I am…" she cackled, holding up one of the heated skewers. Steam had began to quickly form around the rod of the poker and curled playfully in the stagnant air. She waved it around like a cat with a mouse, grinning.

"…and so are these babies. I'm sure they would like some hot, spicy meat tonight!" She stuck the poker back into the hotbox, stood up, and approached the prone Lloyd. She carried over a cup of water and brought it to his lips.

"Drink!" she commanded, in which he did, causing a smile to emerge from her lips.

"Good boy. Looks like you still got some life in ya. Be a bitch if you croaked too easily!"

She gently caressed Lloyd's head and purred soothingly into his ear, "Poor baby. You know, if you talk, we'll let you go, so why not tell us everything that you know about your pals that you're with? I'm sure Lord Forcystus would forgive you of your trespasses against him in the past. Or are you afraid to tell us? I mean, if you blab, you believe that your friends will come and kill you, or if you don't speak, you're afraid that we'll kill you and eventually find out? C'mon, baby cakes, if you tell us, we won't tell anyone about your little confession. I mean, no one will really know for sure where the information came from. We'll keep it a secret, I promise."

Silence. She tried again, this time trying to be a little more convincing.

"Y'know, dearie, before I joined the Desians, I got to help torture devout Martelian priests. Twelve total, and all converted. Man, that was some mother fuckin' serious business then. Peeling off their skin, raping and slicing up little boys and girls, right in front of their parents. Sticking hot iron pokers into their eyes and hearing their pleas for mercy…heh, molten sulfur down the throat, aw yeah. I get a little horny just remembering it all. Those were the times...but here, my little pumpkin, compared to that, we're just playing a little rough."

She massaged his temples and head between her breasts in an effort to make him talk, but he looked back up at her with unforgiving, silent eyes. She glared back in disappointment, and threw the rest of the water from the cup into his face before turning to Forcystus, who had now sat tending to the hotbox full of the pokers.

"Hmph! Fine, then, you lowly human! Lord Forcystus, hand me one!" He handed her a fresh hot poker and sniggered evilly at Lloyd.

She took the poker, steam now curling again from the metal, and drove one pick into Lloyd's right thigh. A small sizzle of burnt flesh could be heard, before his screams of pain filled their ears. Lloyd writhed and struggled against the ropes to break free, but to no avail. Tears of pain began to stream down his face, and before the pain could subside, she began to roll the handle around in her hands, causing even more pain. After several rolls, she violently yanked it out, causing her victim to cry out in pain even more.

"Mmmm...love the smell of barbequed meat, heh heh!" she giggled, taking the cooling poker and playfully licked it before discarding it on another small table. She then took up a bowl full of a red, thick liquid and pulled out a medium-sized nail. Ikon looked gleefully at the boy, who was still writhing in pain.

"Y'know," she said, "when you wanna cook some real home barbeque, ya gotta spice it while it's hot, yes?"

Lloyd gritted his teeth to deal with the pain as she continued.

"See this stuff? It's my special sauce: hot peppers mixed with vinegar, black satay, and marinated in clover honey, my favorite. It adds that special...stingy, painful touch that makes sizzlin' meat taste just so damn good, heh heh! This stuff'll blind ya if it gets in the ol' eyes, no?" She took a nail from the bowl and swirled it around, coating it well with the molasses-like mixture.

"Now, let's plug up that hole so it doesn't bleed too much, okay?"

Ikon took the nail from the bowl and gently stuck it into the hole that had been made in the boy's leg. He emitted a small cry of pain as the sauce made contact with his wound, and just as the pain began to subside, she fiercely whacked the head of the nail with her hand, driving it in quickly and painfully. His eyes opened wide again as the new, excruciating tide of pain hit him like a brick.

"NNGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" his scream of agony could curdle blood. Sure, simple punching and broken bones hurt, but not as painfully as this did. He instinctively struggled against the ropes in an attempt to free himself, but to no use. He was tied down quite well, so well that he now noticed that the ropes began to dig themselves into his skin, almost like eating it alive.

"C'mon, you good for nothing human! Talk!" demanded Forcystus, "Your brave resistance is futile. We already know that you're with two...well, make that one now, heh, other people that are working with a group of people called the Lonemen. This organization has been working in the shadows for centuries, closely following all of our moves, and at some times, assassinated some of our older ranch-leaders."

"What? When did you know this?" asked one of the soldiers.

"Shaddup! Don't question Lord Forcystus, or you'll be on that table next!" hushed another.

Forcystus continued, "Now, while your other friends and that cursed Chosen were in Derris-Kharlan, the Lonemen had planned to assassinate Lord Yggdrassil, but you killed him first. Ever since I heard the news during my recovery, I was shocked, so to speak. Your group inadvertently helped them at every turn, and now, with the rise of the secretive new Desians, they have become quite the hindrance ever since."

Everyone was now listening to him, including Lloyd through the stinging pain in his leg. He continued.

"However, two weeks ago, we captured two of these Lonemen and questioned them, just as we're doing now, as to who hired them. Mind you these two people had managed to wipe out 50 of our men. With his last breath, one of them broke and said: Igaguri. And since you're with a female assassin that we believe is a member of the Lonemen group, Lloyd Irving, she would have more than likely told you something about her job, so to speak. If not, you're already a member of the Lonemen."

Forcystus approached Lloyd, who was now weakly glaring at him, and grabbed his chin.

"Now, speak. Tell us everything you know of these Lonemen. And complete the name Igaguri, not to mention how many of you are there. Speak! Before she drives in another, and another…"

Lloyd replied by angrily spitting into Forcystus' face. The soldiers gasped at this insult to their leader.

"You insolent little---!" the half-elf roared, wiping his face with his sleeve, then grinned. "Fine, I guess you'll answer will have to wait. Ikon, please, continue your fun with this plaything. I want him begging for mercy at my feet by dawn!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Aurora arrived back at the inn, carrying her weapon. She stepped into the doorway and sighed.

All day searching and no luck. After sunset, it became nearly impossible to track Lloyd's attackers scent or footprints. She talked to the innkeeper and several other people about it, but they didn't know anything about where they went or how many there were.

She sat and propped her back against the wall when she heard a dog whining at the door, pawing pitifully. She turned her head to look and was surprised to see a very large, light and dark spotted green dog with large ears looking at her. She remembered that this was Lloyd's faithful pet dog, Noishe.

"Noishe! What're you doing here boy?"

The mutt replied with whimpers and whines. He nudged her head playfully before settling down next to her.

"Are you worried about Lloyd too? I bet you are..." she sighed, "I wish I had some clue as to where they went with him..."

Noise whimpered in her ear almost pitifully.

"Oh shaddup..."

More whimpers bereaved her ears before the dog settled its head on the floor.

_'I can't ask Raja about tracking these guys. The poor guy can't really move, let alone have the strength to show me. Augh, I wish I had a better understanding of how to track people like him...'_ she thought, then turned to Noishe.

"I highly doubt you can find him in conditions like this...hell, I don't have anything of his that has his scent on it...I'm gonna have to continue looking for him in the morning, and I'm taking you with me, you big pooch," she smiled at the dog, who had laid down for sleep. Aurora sighed heavily before looking at the ceiling and closed her eyes for the night.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Somehow, the wind had carried Lloyd's tormented cries of pain and agony all over the world. Genis woke up from his sleep and sat up in his bed.

_'What was that just now?'_ he thought. He looked out the window of his home in Iselia, then looked at the sleeping form of his sister, Raine. He got out of bed and shook her shoulder to wake her up.

"Raine...Raine..." he whispered, "I heard something outside. Did you hear it too?"

Raine grumbled something before shifting in her bed, "…if you had another bad dream," she mumbled, "...mmmm...go back to bed..."

"But Raine..."

She responded with another mumble and turned herself away from the prodding boy, "...me...sleepy..."

Genis sighed in frustration and returned to his bed, unable to sleep because of that strange sound. Just what was it, he wondered, and where did Lloyd run off to this time? He remembered that Lloyd wanted to go adventuring again, but his personality would end up getting him in trouble more often than not. For the first time since, well, forever to him, he began to feel worried about his friend.

End part 2.


End file.
